Internet Protocol (IP) to Video-on-Demand (VOD) Gateway

ABSTRACT

A media server is hosted in a service provider&#39;s network so that media content can be stored from or rendered to a private network such as a Digital Living Network Alliance network. Media content may be stored by accessing the media server or by downloading the media content to the media server. Support of set top boxes interacting with voice-on-demand (VOD) controllers and computers interacting with IP-based video content servers are integrated through the media server. Consequently, VOD assets can be played on IP-based devices and IP-based content can be played on set top boxes. A gateway function converts IP-based content to a VOD asset, and renders the VOD asset to a set top box while mapping digital rights management information for the VOD asset. Conversely, the gateway function may convert a VOD asset to IP-based content that can be played on an IP-based device.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of, and is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/435,059, entitled “Internet Protocol (IP) ToVideo-On-Demand (VOD) Gateway” and filed May 4, 2009. The contents ofthe above listed application are expressly incorporated herein byreference in their entirety for any and all non-limiting purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects relate to storing and rendering media content from a mediaserver. More specifically, the media server may be located in a serviceprovider's network and may implement protocols compliant with a DigitalLiving Network Alliance (DLNA).

BACKGROUND

Consumers are acquiring, managing and using digital media on multipleconsumer electronic devices. Network media sources include a serviceprovider's legacy video plant, the Internet, retail rental locations(physical DVDs), and the home network. A home network typically hasconsumer electronics (CE) devices such as set top boxes, DVD players,personal computers (PCs), game consoles, portable media devices, andmobile phones. Standards are evolving for content delivery, in whichcontent portability may be achieved and made interoperable through theuse of compatible devices and other video internetworking technologies.For example, the Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) is aninternational, cross-industry collaboration of consumer electronics,computing industry and mobile device companies. Members of DLNA developa concept of wired and wireless interoperable networks where digitalcontent such as photos, music, and videos can be shared through consumerelectronics, PCs, and mobile devices in and beyond the home. Theorganization seeks to deliver an interoperability framework and designguidelines that become open industry standards. Current guidelinesexpand the capabilities of the DLNA-defined network to include moredevice classes and functional capabilities, including printers, mobiledevices, controllers, uploaders and downloaders. The guidelines alsoinclude specifications for digital rights management.

With traditional systems, DLNA media servers (DMS) are co-resident toDLNA media players in the local network that is typically located on thecustomer's premises. Media content is often stored in the Internet andmay not be protected by a high level of security. Media content from theInternet sources may be downloaded to a PC in order for the PC toprovide the media content from a DLNA media server to other DLNA mediaplayers in the DLNA network.

Personalized services, e.g., storage of the media content and theadministration of DLNA media and server capability, are typically theresponsibility of the customer in the local network. However, manycustomers do not have a technical background and may find thisresponsibility difficult and burdensome. Also, playing this mediacontent on other media players (e.g., televisions and portable mediaplayers (PMPs)) may require more hardware or software support in thehome as it requires a local DLNA media server at the customer's home.Moreover, media content is often copied to a physical storage deviceeach time the media content is shared with a user in the DLNA network.This may increase the cost to the customer and may require supporting avariety of physical storage devices.

BRIEF SUMMARY

The following presents a simplified summary of the disclosure in orderto provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Itis not intended to identify key or critical elements of the embodimentsor to delineate the scope of the embodiments. The following summarymerely presents some concepts of the disclosure in a simplified form asa prelude to the more detailed description provided below.

A media server is hosted in a service provider's network so that mediacontent can be stored from or rendered to a private network such as aDigital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) network. Media content may bestored directly by accessing the media server or by downloading themedia content to the virtual media server. The media server may supportdiscovery of media content in a local DLNA network, media contentfulfillment from a service provider network, and content delivery for adevice on the DLNA network.

Support of set top boxes interacting with voice-on-demand (VOD)controllers and computers interacting with IP-based video contentservers are integrated through the media server. Consequently, VODassets can be played on IP-based devices and IP-based content can beplayed on set top boxes.

A gateway function that may be implemented within the media server toconvert IP-based content to a video-on-demand (VOD) asset, and to renderthe VOD asset to a set top box. Digital rights management (DRM) and/orpersonal rules for accessing the IP-based content may be mapped for theVOD asset. Conversely, the gateway function may convert a VOD asset toIP-based content that can be played on an IP-based device while mappingdigital rights management information and personal rules.

Other embodiments can be partially or wholly implemented on acomputer-readable medium, for example, by storing computer-executableinstructions or modules, or by utilizing computer-readable datastructures.

Of course, the methods and systems of the above-referenced embodimentsmay also include other additional elements, steps, computer-executableinstructions, or computer-readable data structures. In this regard,other embodiments are disclosed and claimed herein as well.

The details of these and other embodiments are set forth in theaccompanying drawings and the description below. Other features andadvantages of the embodiments will be apparent from the description anddrawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure is illustrated by way of example and not limitedin the accompanying figures in which like reference numerals indicatesimilar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a system with a media server that appears as a localmedia server in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 shows an apparatus that supports a media server in accordancewith various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 shows a system in a network with tunneling flow in accordancewith various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 shows a system with a network server supporting a plurality ofDLNA networks in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram that supports tunneling in accordance withaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 shows multicast media group management for media content sharingin accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 shows an example of associating users with different multicastgroups in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram for forming a multicast group in accordancewith various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram that supports content messaging inaccordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates an Internet Protocol (IP) to Video On Demand (VOD)gateway in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram for supporting IP to VOD gateway, asillustrated in FIG. 10, in accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure.

FIG. 12 shows a system in which a VOD asset is played on an IP-basedmedia player in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 13 shows a flow diagram for playing a VOD asset on an IP-basedmedia player in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While traditional systems separately support set top boxes interactingwith voice-on-demand (VOD) controllers and computers interacting withIP-based video content servers (e.g., Fancast), system 100, as will bediscussed, integrates the above two environments together. Consequently,VOD assets can be played on IP-based devices and IP-based content can beplayed on set top boxes.

FIG. 1 shows a system 100 that supports a network such as a DigitalLiving Network Alliance (DLNA) network. DLNA published its first set ofInteroperability Guidelines in June 2004 and the first set of DLNACertified products began appearing in the market soon thereafter. DLNAInteroperability Guidelines, version 1.5, was published in March 2006,and then expanded in October 2006. These guidelines enlarge thecapabilities of a DLNA-defined network to include more home and mobiledevices. They also include the specifications for link protection toallow secure transmission of copyright-protected commercial digitalcontent. Products are certified by passing the DLNA CertificationProgram. However, embodiments are not limited to version 1.5 of the DLNAInteroperability Guidelines.

DLNA media server 107 appears as a local media server in accordance withvarious aspects of the disclosure. While a DLNA media server istypically hosted at the customer (user) premises in accordance withtraditional systems, DLNA media server 107 is hosted in the serviceprovider network such as a cable network. Media server 107 may host allthe personal media content for a user associated with the DLNA network,where media content may be uploaded directly from a device on the DLNAnetwork by the user. Media server 107 may also connect to network mediasources.

As will be discussed, a hardware entity (e.g., network server 401 asshown in FIG. 4) typically supports a plurality of users in the serviceprovider network, where each customer is associated with either aseparate or virtual media server 107. Media server 107 may be referredto as a virtual media server because the media server appears to thedevices on the user's physical LAN to be located in the user's privatenetwork, as will be discussed. Address mapping module 106 converts thephysical address associated with media server 107 to a virtual addressthat is associated with a private network of the customer so that mediaserver appears to be located within the private network (e.g., a DLNAnetwork). For example, as will be discussed, a tunnel may be establishedbetween physical addresses while one or more sessions may be establishedwithin the tunnel using the virtual addresses.

With various aspects of the disclosure, a portion of the DLNA network isassociated with the customer premises. The customer-based portiontypically includes various DLNA devices, e.g., computer (PC) 109 andmedia player 101, as well as a local router (not explicitly shown inFIG. 1 but shown as router 307 in FIG. 3) that routes messages betweenthe DLNA devices. With some embodiments, the local router may be wherethe tunnel between the physical device 106 and the local network 151 isterminated in the user's network

With an embodiment, media server 107 is discovered through discoveryapplication 110, which is typically implemented in the local network.Content fulfillment from the provider network and content delivery mayoccur through an existing cable infrastructure (e.g., cable modemtermination system CMTS 105 and cable modem 103).

CMTS 105 is equipment typically found in a cable company's head-end (notshown) or at a cable company hub-site. CMTS 105 typically provides highspeed data services, e.g., cable internet or Voice over IP (VoIP), tocable subscribers. In order to provide these high speed data services, acable company often connects its head-end to the Internet via very highcapacity data links to a network service provider. On the subscriberside of the network, CMTS 105 enables communication with subscribers'cable modems. Different CMTSs are typically capable of serving differentcable modem population sizes ranging from 4,000 cable modems to 150,000or more, depending in part on the amount of traffic.

A given head-end may be associated with a dozen or more CMTSs to servicethe cable modem population served by that head-end or hybrid fiber coax(HFC) hub. CMTS 105 typically functions as a router with Ethernetinterfaces (connections) on one side and coax RF interfaces on the otherside. The RF/coax interfaces may carry RF signals to and from cablemodem 103. CMTS 105 typically supports high-speed data interfaces aswell as RF interfaces. Consequently, traffic that is coming from theInternet (e.g., from Internet media server 113) may be routed (orbridged) through an Ethernet interface, through CMTS 105, and then ontothe RF interfaces to cable modem 103.

With network-based hosting of media server 107, media content between anIP network and a broadcast network may be shared as will be furtherdiscussed. With media server 107 hosted in the provider network, mediaserver 107 may store the personal media content of the user atpersonalized media store 111. The media content may be stored directlyby the user by accessing server 107 securely or by downloading the mediacontent from an external IP source (e.g., a Fancast server, which can beaccessed at www.fancast.com) to media server 107. For example, a serviceprovider (e.g., Comcast.net) may allow a personalized web page for eachof its customers, and the media content may be uploaded and categorizedto the web page.

Media server 107 provides media content for a private network that isseparate from the media content for another private network. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 4, media content for media server 407 isseparately stored from media content for media server 409, in which eachmedia server is associated with different private networks.Consequently, media server 107 may be implemented as a disaggregatedDLNA media server for supporting remote fulfillment, in which mediacontent for a private network may be locally discovered. Discovery ofmedia server 107 and announcing of content is typically implementedwithin the local network (e.g., discovery application 110). Thisapproach may reduce the number of router hops and reduce the round tripdelay time during the discovery process. With some embodiments, properoperation of DLNA-compatible devices may require that DLNA discoverymessages be routed with a maximum of 3 router hops and a maximum of 7msec round trip delay time. Also, multicast messages typically are notrouted from media server 107 to the local network through CMTS 105 andcable modem 103. During the DLNA discovery process, local DMSapplication 110 publishes the URL of media server 107 as the URL for themedia content.

Some embodiments may utilize Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) to allowDLNA devices to connect seamlessly and to implement a DLNA network inthe home (data sharing, communications, and entertainment) or in acorporate environment.

UPnP networking is typically based on IP addressing. Each DLNA devicehas a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) client and searches fora DHCP server when the device is first connected to the network. If noDHCP server is available (the network is unmanaged), the DLNA deviceassigns itself an address. If during the DHCP transaction, a DLNA deviceobtains a domain name through a DNS server or via DNS forwarding, theDLNA device may use that name in subsequent network operations;otherwise, the device should use its IP address.

Given an IP address, UPnP networking further supports a discoveryprocess. When a DLNA device is added to the network, the UPnP discoveryprotocol allows a DLNA device to advertise its services to controlpoints on the network. Similarly, when a control point is added to thenetwork, the UPnP discovery protocol allows the control point to searchfor devices of interest on the network. The discovery utilizes discoverymessaging that may contain a device's type, identifier, and a pointer tomore detailed information.

A media player (e.g., DLNA media player 101) may use the media server'sURL as the destination URL and may communicate with media server 107 forthe media content. Media server 107 may provide connectivity to existingmedia store (e.g., personalized Comcast.net web page) or implement amedia store (e.g., personalized media store 111).

Although not explicitly shown, messaging between devices in a DLNAnetwork is typically routed through a local router.

Media server 107 may connect to Internet media server 113 (e.g., aFancast server) using Internet Protocol for content rendering over IPconnectivity to CMTS 105 to share media content with downstream mediaplayers (e.g., player 101 and PC 109). With some embodiments, mediaserver 107 may make requests of Internet media server 113 using standardweb interface requests (e.g., appearing as a PC requesting content usingSOAP/XML). Media server 107 then proxies the data for the player 101.Initially, media server 107 may request the catalog of content fromInternet media server 113, and may present that over interface 106 usingstandard UPnP messages annunciating content. Media server 107 may alsosupport additional functionality, including session management for cablemodem 103, transcoding media content to an appropriate format (e.g.,MPEG 2 or MPEG 4) as required by a DLNA media player, and digital rightsmanagement (DRM) for playing the content on a downstream player (e.g.,Digital Transmission Content Protection over Internet Protocol(DTCP-IP)).

Media content downloading from Internet media server 113 may besupported by exporting an interface (e.g., from Fancast to the DLNAmedia server 107). An exemplary embodiment incorporates a web serviceAPI with Simple Object Access Protocol (XML protocol) (SOAP/XML) formatto connect to the DLNA media server 107 from Internet media server 113.DLNA media server 107 may query Internet media server 113 for the mediacontent and cache media content with an expiry timer.

With other embodiments, alternative options implement Remote MethodInvocation (RMI) using a Common Object Request Broker Architecture(CORBA) on the Fancast server 113, SQL queries from media server 107 toa database associated with Internet media server 113, or screen scrapingof a website that is associated with Internet media server 113.

Media content from Internet media server 113 through media server 107may be supported with various real-time protocols including Real TimeStreaming Protocol (RTSP). RTSP allows a user to remotely control astreaming media server with VCR-like commands and allows time-basedaccess to files on media server 107.

A communication channel (e.g., tunnel 321 as shown in FIG. 3) can beuniquely established from local (home) network 151 to DLNA media server107. From the customer (end user) perspective, only one media serverconnects to Internet media server 113. Caching and data transfer may bemaintained to provide the same user experience as that of directlyconnecting to Internet media server 113 or to media store 111.

System 100 may include a video on demand (VOD) server 115 to support anIP to VOD gateway application residing on a DLNA media server 107.

System 100 may be advantageous over traditional systems becauseadditional DLNA media servers may not be needed at local network 151(customer premises). For example, customers may buy devices with DLNAplayers built into them but may not have a DLNA server to access orcontent they wish to view in their home network. System 100 may a wayfor someone to have the service provider “do it for me” without havingto purchase additional equipment or spend time building configuring.Personal media content is stored in the provider network media store,thus removing the need for a local storage in local network 151. Mediacontent from Internet media server 113 and other personal media contentmay be directly downloaded to an IP-enabled DLNA media player becausetranscoding is performed by transcoder module 108 in the upstreamnetwork. Also, transcoder module 108 may perform transcoding so that IPmedia content may be delivered as a video on demand (VOD) through a settop box (not shown). Conversely, transcoder module 180 may performtranscoding so that a VOD media file (VOD asset) is delivered to anIP-compatible device.

Transcoder module 108 converts the format of a media file or streamedfile format into an appropriate format so that a target device canproperly play the converted media file based on characteristics of thetarget device (e.g., resolution and color display capability).Transcoder module 108 may convert video formats (i.e., MPEG-2 to MPEG-4,VHS to QuickTime, QuickTime to MPEG). Also, transcoder module 108 may beused to fit HTML files and graphics files to the unique constraints ofmobile devices and other Web-enabled products. Mobile devices often havesmaller screen sizes, lower memory, and slower bandwidth rates.Transcoding may entail (changing file formats as previously discussed),transrating (lowering the screen resolution or frames per second to meetthe capabilities of the player), and re-encrypting content. With someembodiments, requests made of the VOD server 115 may be of a proprietaryprotocol, but the Media Server 107 may know how to interface with thatserver and start and stream control content.

According to aspects of the disclosure, a media server (e.g., mediaserver 107) may execute computer executable instructions from acomputer-readable medium. Computer storage media may include volatileand nonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in anymethod or technology for storage of information such as computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data.Computer storage media include, but is not limited to, random accessmemory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electronically erasableprogrammable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used tostore the desired information and that can be accessed by a processor.

FIG. 2 shows apparatus 200 that supports a media server in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure. With some embodiments, apparatus 200comprises a computer platform (e.g., network server 401 as shown in FIG.4) that supports numerous media servers (e.g., media server 107), whereeach media server is associated with a corresponding private network.

Apparatus 200 interfaces to an external or internal network (shownincluding Internet media server 113 and VOD server 115 in FIG. 1) vianetwork interface 205 typically with the Internet Protocol and cableinterface 203 that communicates with supported private networks throughCMTS 105.

Processor 201 provides functionalities associated with media server 107,as previously discussed, including transformation (e.g., transcoding) ofmedia content and conversion of physical addresses to virtual addressesso that a virtual address appears to be local within a private network.

Processor 201 may execute computer executable instructions from acomputer-readable medium, e.g., memory 209. Computer storage media mayinclude volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data.

Apparatus 200 also includes memory 207 for storing media content. Eventhough personal media content may be stored in the service provider'snetwork, the media content appears to be locally stored and discoveredin the private network that is associated with the media server.

FIG. 3 shows system 300 in a network with tunneling flow in accordancewith various aspects of the disclosure. System 300 hosts personalizedserver (media server) 301 in a service provider network (comprisinglocal network router 307, cable modem 305, and CMTS 303) and connectsthe network with the user's local network (comprising PC 309, PC 311,portable media player (PMP) 313, and game console 315) by making theserver IP address appear to be in the local network.

A communications channel may be established between media server 301(which may be one of a plurality of media servers supported by apparatus200) to a private network (e.g., local network 151 as shown in FIG. 1)through an Ethernet interface to CMTS 303. Consequently, CMTS 303typically supports a coax RF connection to cable modem 305. With someembodiments, a L2TP communication tunnel may be established betweenmedia server 301 (or some sort of security endpoint in front of mediaserver 301) and cable modem 305.

Media server 301 may be hosted in the upstream network 317 and connectswith the corresponding user's local network. In a cable network, cablemodem 305 is typically at the customer premises and provides the publicIP for the local network. The local network is typically a privatenetwork with private IP addresses, which are not routable outside of thenetwork.

With traditional systems, other IP enabled devices in the local networkcannot communicate with any personalized servers (e.g., server 301) inthe network cloud. The private IP addresses of devices 309, 311, 313,and 315 are routable within the private network only and routed toexternal networks via the cable modem's public IP address and byperforming network address translation. Personalized services (e.g.,storage of the media, the DLNA Media server capability, and so forth)with traditional systems are controlled and maintained by the user inthe local network. Because personalized services are typically availableonly through the public Internet, it may be difficult to offer serviceswhich require processing of multicast messages for a DLNA network.Traditional cable networks typically do not route the multicast messagesoriginated from a private network.

A network connection from local network devices to server 301 issupported so as to render various personalized services to the user. Aswill be further discussed, media server 301 appears to devices 309, 311,313, and 315 to be in the local network by mapping physical addresses tovirtual addresses. For example, server 301 may be assigned a physical IPaddress (e.g., 180.180.180.180) while the associated virtual address iswithin the virtual address space of the DLNA network. For example, mediaserver 301 may have a physical IP address of 180.180.180.180 while thecorresponding virtual address is 150.150.150.150, which is within thevirtual address space of the DLNA network. The virtual address of mediaserver 301 may be within an address range associated with cable modem305. Continuing the example, the virtual addresses of devices 309, 311,313, and 315 are 150.150.150.151, 150.150.150.152, 150.150.150.153, and150.150.150.154, respectively. Devices 309, 311, 313, and 315 and server301 can communicate with each other using the virtual addresses so thatmedia server 301 appears to be local within the DLNA network.

The translation of physical to virtual addresses can be performed byprocessor 201, in which tunnel 321 is established between media server301 and either cable modem 305 or local network router 307, whichcorresponds to an endpoint in local network 151 (as shown in FIG. 1).Embodiments can support different endpoints in a private network,including cable modem 305, local network router 307, or PC 309. Oncetunnel 321 has been established, a session may be established wheremedia server 301 is associated with a virtual address that is within theaddress space of cable modem 305.

In order to decrease delay times and to reduce the number of routerhops, tunnel 321 is established between an endpoint in the DLNA network(e.g., local network router 307) and media server 301. Embodiments mayestablish a tunnel to different endpoints, including network PC 311 orcable modem 303, by using the physical addresses. Once tunnel 321 hasbeen established, one or more sessions may be established within tunnel321 using virtual addresses as will be further discussed. With someembodiments, establishing the tunnel is performed by using the L2TPprotocol. The virtual address of the media server 301 is requested ofthe local router 307 after the L2TP tunnel is established.

FIG. 4 shows a system 400 with network server 401 supporting DLNAnetworks 403 and 405 in accordance with aspects of the disclosure.Network server 401 may be implemented as a server platform supportingnumerous media servers (e.g., media servers 407 and 409), where eachmedia server corresponds to a private network (e.g., a DLNA network). Inorder to extend the DLNA network to a media server, each DLNA networkestablishes a tunnel to the corresponding media server, where tunnel 419corresponds to endpoint 411 and media server 409 and tunnel 421corresponds to endpoint 413 and media server 407.

Once a tunnel has been established, one or more sessions may beestablished between a DLNA device and the corresponding media serverusing virtual addresses. For example, sessions 423 and 425 areestablished for devices 415 and 417, respectively, with media server409.

Embodiments may use different protocols in order to establish tunnel419. For example, embodiments may use Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP).L2TP is a tunneling protocol used to support virtual private networks(VPNs) but does not provide encryption or confidentiality by itself.However, L2TP typically relies on an encryption protocol that it passeswithin tunnel 419 to provide privacy. Although L2TP acts like a datalink layer 2 protocol (corresponding to the OSI model), L2TP is really asession layer 5 protocol. The entire L2TP packet, including payload andL2TP header, is sent within a UDP datagram. L2TP can supportPoint-to-Point Protocol (PPP) sessions (e.g., sessions 423 and 425)within L2TP tunnel 419.

IPsec can be used to secure L2TP packets by providing confidentiality,authentication, and integrity. The combination of these two protocols isgenerally known as L2TP/IPsec and is standardized in IETF RFC 3193. Whenthe tunneling process is completed, L2TP packets between the endpointsare encapsulated by IPsec. Since the L2TP packet itself is wrapped andhidden within the IPsec packet, no information about the internalprivate network can be obtained from the encrypted packet.

L2TP with IPSec may be used to make a VPN connection between a localnetwork device (e.g., device 415 or 417) and media server 409 thatresides in media server 401. Media server 409 may be hosted in theregional network and may be routable from CMTS 303 (as shown in FIG. 3).Media server 409 assists in routing regional traffic (e.g., VOD orFancast video) to the local network 403, thus providing a personalizednetwork-based server to each household.

The two endpoints of an L2TP tunnel (corresponding to 409 and 411) arecalled the LAC (L2TP Access Concentrator) and the LNS (L2TP NetworkServer). The LAC is the initiator of the tunnel, while the LNS is theserver, which waits for new tunnels. Once a tunnel is established, thenetwork traffic (e.g., sessions 423 and 425) between the peers isbidirectional. Either the LAC or LNS may initiate sessions 423 and 425.L2TP tunnel 419 may extend across an entire PPP session or only acrossone segment of a two-segment session.

Media servers 407 and 409 support a personalized server part of thelocal network, but are hosted in the provider network cloud, thusproviding personalized services to the user. Once the tunnel is created,the local network traffic may be routed to the upstream server. Networkserver 401, which is located in the service provider's network, canestablish a connection for each private network through a tunnel.Network server 401 connects to multiple households, but appears as onevirtual server (e.g., media servers 407 and 409) for each of the privatenetworks.

Embodiments may also utilize a secure shell (SSH) tunneling protocol toestablish tunnel 419. An SSH tunnel is an encrypted tunnel createdthrough an SSH protocol connection. SSH tunnels may be used to tunnelunencrypted traffic over a network through an encrypted channel. Tocreate an SSH tunnel, an SSH client is configured to forward a specifiedlocal port to a port on the remote machine. Once the SSH tunnel has beenestablished, the user can connect to the specified local port to accessthe network service.

FIG. 5 shows a flow diagram 500 that supports tunneling in accordancewith aspects of the disclosure. In step 501, the physical address ofmedia server 409 is determined so that tunnel 419 can be establishedbetween endpoint 411 (e.g., cable modem 305, local network router 307,or PC 309 as shown in FIG. 3) and media server 409 in step 505. Withsome embodiments, tunnel 419 is established between arbitrary physicaladdresses, and then the virtual address is assigned from router 307 tomedia server 409 across the tunnel 419. In this way, it appears thatmedia server 409 (from the perspective of the router and the player) ison the local network.

In step 503, the physical address of media server 409 is mapped to avirtual address so that the virtual address appears as a local addresswithin DLNA network 403. The address mapping is performed by processor201 (as shown in FIG. 2), which may be located in network server 401.With some embodiments, the mapping of local addresses is a function ofL2TP, where all layer 2 traffic is carried across this link. The L2TPendpoint in the network may be common to all virtual sessions and maythen assign a virtual server to the session. A tunnel is established instep 505 so that a session may be established to media server 409 from aDLNA device (e.g., 415 or 417). Consequently, media server 409 istreated as a local device within DLNA network 403 in step 507.

FIG. 6 shows a system 600 that supports multicast media group managementfor media content sharing in accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure. Network-based media servers 625, 627, 629, 631, 633, and 635that are implemented on server platform (network server) 601 sharepersonalized media content for a multicast group using a network-basedmedia server. Each user (corresponding to a media server (user session))is able to store personalized media content. The media content may beshared with other users by making each user's media available through amulticast group. Moreover, users may subscribe to multiple mediamulticast groups. This approach consequently provides seamless contentsharing across users through the network-based service.

A multicast group address can be used by sources and receivers to sendand receive content. Sources use the multicast group address as thedestination address in data packets. Receivers use the group address toinform the network that they are interested in receiving packets sent tothat group. For example, if some content is associated with groupaddress 239.1.1.1, the source sends data packets destined to 239.1.1.1.Receivers for that content inform the network that they are interestedin receiving data packets sent to the group address 239.1.1.1. Thereceiver consequently “joins” group address 239.1.1.1. With someembodiments, it is up to the media server 107 to join a multicast groupand send it down “unicast” to each DLNA client. Virtual IP addressranges may absolutely overlap. For example it is possible that allvirtual addresses may be in the 192.168.0.x range.

System 600 connects DLNA networks 651 and 653 to an associated mediaserver (625, 627, 629, 631, 633, or 635) through network 603, whichcomprises a service provider's infrastructure. DLNA network 651comprises cable modem 611 and devices 619, 621, and 623 while DLNAnetwork 653 comprises cable modem 605 and devices 613, 615, and 617.DLNA networks 651 and 653 may also include a local network router (notshown in FIG. 6).

With traditional systems, media content is shared by copying the mediacontent to various portable devices such as DVDs, SD cards, and soforth. There may be a number of difficulties with conventionalsolutions. First, media content may be stored in the Internet and maynot be secure enough. Also, playing media content on other media players(e.g., TVs and PMPs) typically requires more hardware or softwaresupport in the home because it requires a local DLNA media server in thehome. Traditional approaches may also require that transcoding of mediacontent to other formats be performed in the local network. Moreover,when using physical media for sharing, the media content typically needsto be copied to a physical storage device each time to share with eachuser. This may increase the cost to the user and may require supportingvariety of physical storage devices.

With some embodiments, multicast group management function 637 sharespersonalized media stored in the provider's network with other users.Multicast group management function 637 may be performed by processor201 as shown in FIG. 2. As previously discussed, tunneling with a DLNAnetwork (e.g., DLNA network 651 or 653) enables a media server to appearas part of the DLNA network and enables media content from each user tobe annunciated in a multicast group, which can be subscribed to by theother user. A user may join to or leave from the multicast group, inwhich a user may dynamically subscribe or unsubscribe to other user'smedia. The media owner can further restrict the sharing privileges bycreating restrictions on the user's media group or by rejecting therestrictions to the multicast group (media group). For example, a webservices layer may be supported where content can be shared. Sharingcontent with other users may involve creating virtual links inside themedia server to share specific files or directories.

A media server of another other user interested in the media group mayjoin or subscribe to the multicast group. Subscribing to the multicastgroup may be transparent to the user (e.g., the multicast group may beprovisioned by the service provider) or may require explicit action bythe user (e.g., through a DLNA device in response to multicast messagingadvertising the multicast group). The subscribed user's media server mayshow media content that is shared by another user as aggregated mediacontent to the user's media player in the downstream network.

A user may join or leave the multicast group (media group). The mediaowner may restrict the media to specific users by creating restrictionson the media group or by rejecting the subscriptions to the media group.This mechanism performs in a consistent manner to Internet GroupManagement Protocol (IGMP) for managing multicast groups. IGMP is acommunications protocol often used to manage the membership of InternetProtocol multicast groups and may be used by IP hosts and adjacentmulticast routers to establish multicast group memberships. IGMP isspecified by documents (e.g., RFC 1112, RFC 2236, and RFC 3376) editedby the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

FIG. 7 shows an example of associating users 707-713 with differentmulticast groups 701, 703, and 705 in accordance with various aspects ofthe disclosure. A user (corresponding to a media server) may be a memberof one or more multicast groups. As exemplified by FIG. 7, user 707 ismember of multicast groups 701 and 705, where each multicast group mayhave different restrictions. For example, multicast group 701 mayinclude only family members while multicast group 705 may includefriends. Consequently, user 707 may wish to share more personalizedmedia (e.g., personal pictures) with members of multicast group 701 thanwith multicast group 705.

FIG. 8 shows a flow diagram 800 that supports sharing of media contentusing multicast groups in accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure. In step 801, a multicast group is created based on one ofthe users supported on network server 601 (as shown in FIG. 6). Creationof the multicast group may be performed implicitly by a provisioningprocess or may be performed in an explicit manner, in which multicastmessages are sent to selected DLNA networks so that users can discoveravailable multicast groups and may request to join a multicast group.

In step 803, the multicast group is announced to different users so thata user can request to join the group in step 805. With some embodiments,the user may explicitly discover and request membership in the multicastgroup by receiving messages from multicast group management function637. With other embodiments, multicast group management function 637 maydirectly manage multicast membership when all of the members aresupported by media servers on network server 601 without directparticipation by the users in the local networks.

In step 805, a user requests to join or leave the multicast group.Multicast group management function 637 may act on behalf of the usersbased on provisioning information. If the user is permitted to join themulticast group, as determined in step 807, the requesting user is addedto the multicast group in step 809, and a message for the multicastgroup is sent to the user (e.g., the associated DLNA network if the useris explicitly involved) or to the associated media server (if multicastgroup management function 637 is handling multicasting on behalf of theuser).

In step 811, one of the members (corresponding to the source mediaserver) may share media content by sending the media content to themulticast group address. Consequently, in step 813 multicast groupmanagement function 637 sends the shared media content to the mediaservers that are associated with the multicast group.

A virtual address in a DLNA network may be converted into a multicastgroup address so that the multicast group appears to be local to theDLNA network by multicast group management function 637 based onprovisioning of the multicast groups.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram 900 that supports sharing of media contentusing multicast groups in accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure. In step 901, a multicast group may be created (correspondingto steps 801, 803, 805, 807, and 809 as shown in FIG. 8). Flow diagram900 is based on flow diagram 800 and further aggregates (combines)content media content that can be shared among the members of themulticast group. Based on media restrictions for the multicast group(e.g., from provisioning information for the multicast group), multicastgroup management function 637 forms the aggregated media content withshared media content for the multicast group in step 903. Media contentmay be aggregated based on characteristics of media content. Forexample, members of a multicast group may not wish to share familypictures with the other members. With some embodiments, a Webapplication may be supported that allows users to self-classify mediaand the permissions surrounding that media. Rather than duplicatingmedia content, multicast group management 637 may use pointers thataddress corresponding media content for a plurality of users.

In step 905, multicast group management function 637 may send thecontent list of aggregated media content to the members of the multicastgroup. Subsequently, a member can select available media content frommulticast group management function 637. With some embodiments, contentannunciation happens through the multicast address, while the requestand access of actual content happens through the virtual IP address andnot through the multicast address.

With some embodiments, sharing of content may be accomplished throughthe use of one or more capabilities associated with the virtual machinesin the network. Capabilities include:

-   -   Content to be shared is made available from one virtual machine        to another via a copy or link of the asset to the virtual        machine associated with the party to which the content is to be        shared. In this case, the virtual server associated with the        party with which the content is to be shared references a copy        of the media directly or indirectly through a symbolic link.    -   The party with whom the media is to be shared should contact the        sharing party's virtual server directly and request the content.    -   A third party server (e.g., a RADIUS server) should control        access to each asset associated with any virtual machine in the        network.

However, regardless of which implementation, there is typically a needfor authentication and access control only to allow authorized partiesto specific assets.

FIG. 10 illustrates an Internet Protocol (IP) to Video VOD gateway inaccordance with various aspects of the disclosure. System 1000 includesa VOD server (e.g., server 115 but not explicitly shown in FIG. 10)through VOD controller 1005 to support an IP to VOD gateway residing ona DLNA media server 1007. Media server 1007 may include a function todistribute media content to IP enabled media players (e.g., PC 1011) andto set top box 1003.

In an exemplary embodiment, media content may be from any of the threesources from a service provider network: Internet media server 113, VODserver 115, or personalized media store 111 as shown in FIG. 1. Withsome embodiments, DLNA media server 1007 supports the followingfunctionalities:

-   -   Session management of VOD controller 1005.    -   Authentication for each session.    -   Transcoding of media content.    -   Connectivity to Personalized Media Store (not explicitly shown        in FIG. 10 but corresponding to 111 as shown in FIG. 1).    -   Connectivity to External Content Server 1013.    -   Aggregate and display VOD assets to an IP based media player        1011 (also shown as PC 1011).    -   Mapping DRM of VOD and IP assets.

IP-based content may be transcoded by DLNA media server 1007 to reformatthe content for the correct display size with the correct frame rate forthe end equipment displaying the VOD asset. In addition, DLNA mediaserver 1007 handles transcription and digital rights management rules.DRM rules often apply to original content and that need to be mapped toreformatted content. For example, the rules that apply to Windows Media®digital rights management (DRM) should be mapped to the correspondingVOD asset so that a television understands the DRM rules when paying theVOD asset. In addition to digital rights management, DLNA media server1007 may handle the business rules (e.g., rental, purchase, how manydevices and which devices) and personal rules associated with profilemanagement for the content. For example, content may be viewable only byauthorized recipients.

System 1000 may utilize features of VOD controller 1005, includingmanaging a session with network-based DLNA media server 1007 throughIP-VOD gateway 1009, transferring the personalized media content fromthe DLNA media server 1007 to set top box 1003 on an in-band channel,rendering content media from DLNA media server 1007 as a VOD asset, andannouncing the VOD assets to DLNA media server 1007 for selection byuser 1001. As used herein, the term “set top box” is used to describe anapparatus that is configured to navigate, select, receive and provide anoutput of multimedia content from a provider such as a broadcast,unicast, multicast, and/or video on demand, Internet, private network,or other provider (hereinafter content provider). The content providermay include a cable system, satellite system, fiber optic system,telephone system, mobile car TV system, phone TV system, power system,or other system associated with providing content navigation, selectionand distribution services to a user (including business) location.Moreover, a set top box is not required to be a separate apparatus, butrather would encompass a television and/or DVR configurable to receivethe media content. Indeed, any device that is configurable to receiveand provide an output signal comprising media content from a broadcastprovider falls within the term set top box as used herein. Theapparatus(es) that form the set top box may include one or moreprocessors, ASICs, memories, user interfaces, and other features tofacilitate the operation thereof. An apparatus may interact with otherdelivery or control platforms to navigate, select, and receive content.Content may include data, applications, broadcast media, on demandmedia, and combinations thereof.

The DLNA media server with IP to VOD gateway may offer advantages overtraditional systems. For example, system 1000 may provide accessibilityof media across domain boundaries so that user 1001 can host personalmedia content such as photos, videos in the service provider network andcan watch the media content on a television or other media player.Consequently, a separate digital media server (DMS) may not be needed atthe customer premise, thus facilitating management of the DLNA networkby the user. In addition, transcoding of content media and mapping ofDRM can be performed by media server 1007 at the network level, andconsequently the user would not need the associated applications in anentity on the customer premise. A non-technical user also may be able toeasily play the personalized media from an IP network to a television.It also may be possible to share personal media with other users orsubscribe to another user's content (such as photos, videos) withappropriate permissions and DRM.

FIG. 11 shows flow diagram 1100 for an exemplary method of supporting anIP to VOD gateway, as illustrated in FIG. 10, in accordance with variousaspects of the disclosure. Flow diagram 1100 enables IP content media tobe played on set top box 1003 as a VOD asset by delivering the mediacontent from DLNA media server 1007 as a VOD asset to set top box 1003.User 1001 may instruct set top box 1003 to tune to a specific VODchannel, and VOD controller 1005 initiates a session with DLNA mediaserver 1007 in order to stream the specific user's media content. Yet inother embodiments, upon selection of a specific media content, the settop box 1003 may automatically tune to a specific VOD channel, and VODcontroller 1005 may then initiate a session with DLNA media server 1007in order to stream the specific user's media content.

DLNA media server 1007 may perform transcoding (e.g., MPEG 2 format) inorder to obtain a compatible format for set top box 1003. For example, aVOD asset typically has a MPEG-2 format while IP-based media content mayhave one of different formats including MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.264, andH.263. Session management that is established between VOD controller1005, and DLNA media server 1007 may use existing VOD protocols, e.g.,Session Setup Protocol, Stream Control Protocol, and Autodiscovery.Referring FIG. 11, user 1001 chooses the media content to store in DLNAmedia server 1007 (virtual DLNA media server (DMS) in step 1101corresponding to messaging 1051 as shown in FIG. 10. Consequently, inaccordance with an exemplary embodiment, media content is stored in DLNAmedia server 1007 from user's PC 1011 in step 1102 (corresponding tomessaging 1052). With another exemplary embodiment, subscribed mediacontent from external content server 1013 (e.g., Fancast @fancast.com orYouTube@youtube.com) or aggregated media content from external contentserver 1013 may be stored on DLNA media server 1007 corresponding tomessaging 1052 a.

In step 1103 (corresponding to messaging 1053), user 1001 tunes set topbox 1003 to a channel for selecting content stored in DLNA media server1007. In step 1104 (corresponding to messaging 1054), set top box 1003initiates a session with VOD controller 1005. Consequently, in step 1105(corresponding to messaging 1055) VOD controller 1005 initiates asession with the gateway 1009 that may be executed on DLNA media server1007.

In step 1106 (corresponding to messaging 1056), DLNA media server 1007authenticates with VOD controller 1005 for initiating the user session.In step 1107 (corresponding to messaging 1057), the session initiationis completed

In step 1108 (corresponding to messaging 1058), DLNA media server 1007initiates transfer of the transcoded media content to set top box 1003.In step 1109 (corresponding to signal flow 1059), VOD controller 1005uses the VOD infrastructure for delivering the media content to set topbox 1003. Set top box 1003 consequently renders the media content to aconnected player (not explicitly shown in FIG. 11).

FIG. 12 shows system 1200 in which a VOD asset is played on an IP-basedmedia player in accordance with various aspects of the disclosure.System 1200 is an inverse version of system 1000 as shown in FIG. 10.System 1000 enables IP-based media content to be played through set topbox 1003 as a VOD asset, while system 1200 enables a VOD asset to beplayed on an IP-based media player (e.g., PC 1201).

DLNA media server proxy 1203 aggregates a VOD asset and provides a userinterface to an application running on the media player 1201 (also shownas PC 1201 but may be a separate media player in some embodiments). Theuser selects a VOD asset using this application. IP-VOD gateway 1205(which may be implemented on media server 1203) initiates a session withthe VOD system and requests the VOD asset from VOD server 1209 throughVOD controller 1207. DLNA media server 1203 transcodes the receivedmedia to the appropriate format for PC 1201, applies usage rules and DRMto the media content, and transfers the transcoded media content to PC1201 downstream via the IP network.

FIG. 13 shows flow diagram 1300 for system 1200 in which a VOD asset isplayed on an IP-based media player 1201 in accordance with variousaspects of the disclosure. In step 1301 (corresponding to flow 1251 asshown in FIG. 4) a user chooses a VOD asset from a list displayed on PC1201 in the desktop application. Typically, the list is dynamicallypopulated by DLNA media server 1203.

In step 1302 (corresponding to flow 1252) DLNA media server 1203connects to VOD controller 1207 to initiate a session with the usercredentials. In step 1303 (corresponding to flow 1253) VOD controller1207 authenticates the session.

Once the session has been established in steps 1302 and 1303, DLNA mediaserver 1203 requests the asset from VOD controller 1207 in step 1304(corresponding to flow 1254). VOD controller 1207 consequently rendersthe requested media content to DLNA media server 1203 in step 1305(corresponding to flow 1255).

In step 1306 (corresponding to flow 1256) DLNA media server 1203transcodes the media format and maps the DRM of the requested VOD assetto the corresponding DRM (e.g., Windows Media DRM or Content Protectionfor Recordable Media and Pre-Recorded Media (CPRM/CPPM)). In step 1307(corresponding to flow 1257) DLNA media server 1203 renders thetranscoded media content through the IP network to PC 1201.

While the exemplary embodiments have been discussed in broad terms of acable communications networking environment, some embodiments may beconfigured for other networking environments includingtelecommunications environments.

We claim:
 1. A method comprising: determining, by a first computingdevice, a physical address associated with a second computing device;translating the physical address to a virtual address associated with afirst local area network; establishing a first communication channelbetween the second computing device and an endpoint in the first localarea network; and in response to establishing the first communicationchannel, utilizing the virtual address to establish a firstcommunication session between the second computing device and a DigitalLiving Network Alliance (DLNA) device associated with the endpoint inthe first local area network.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising: during the first communication session, associating thesecond computing device with the virtual address.
 3. The method of claim2, wherein the virtual address is within a same address space as theDLNA device.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising: establishinga second communication channel between a third computing device and anendpoint in a second local area network; and establishing a secondcommunication session between the third computing device and a DLNAdevice associated with the endpoint in the second local area network. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the first computing device, the secondcomputing device, and the third computing device reside in a serviceprovider network.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the second computingdevice is located within a second local area network.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the first communication channel comprises a layer 2tunneling protocol (L2TP) communication tunnel.
 8. The method of claim1, wherein the endpoint in the first local area network comprises atleast one of a cable modem and a local area network router.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the virtual address is within a same addressspace as the endpoint in the first local area network.
 10. A methodcomprising: determining, by a first computing device, a physical addressassociated with a second computing device; translating the physicaladdress to a virtual address associated with a first local area network;establishing a first communication channel between the second computingdevice and an endpoint in the first local area network; in response toestablishing the first communication channel, utilizing the virtualaddress to establish a communication session between the secondcomputing device and a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) deviceassociated with the endpoint in the first local area network; receiving,from the DLNA device, a content item transmitted via the firstcommunication channel; transcoding the content item from a first formatto a second format compatible with a terminal located in the first localarea network, resulting in a transcoded content item; establishing asession between the second computing device and a video-on-demand (VOD)controller based on a content request from the terminal; andtransferring the transcoded content item to the terminal, via the VODcontroller, in accordance with the content request from the terminal.11. The method of claim 10, further comprising: during the communicationsession, associating the second computing device with the virtualaddress.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the virtual address iswithin a same address space as the DLNA device.
 13. The method of claim10, wherein the second computing device is located within a second localarea network.
 14. The method of claim 10, wherein the endpoint in thefirst local area network comprises at least one of a cable modem and alocal area network router.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein thevirtual address is within a same address space as the endpoint in thefirst local area network.
 16. A method comprising: determining, by afirst computing device, a physical address associated with a secondcomputing device; translating the physical address to a virtual addressassociated with a first local area network; establishing a firstcommunication channel between the second computing device and anendpoint in the first local area network; in response to establishingthe first communication channel, utilizing the virtual address toestablish a first communication session between the second computingdevice and a Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) device associatedwith the endpoint in the first local area network; providing a userapplication interface to the DLNA device; receiving, via the userapplication interface, user input selection indicating a content requestfor a video-on-demand (VOD) content asset; establishing a sessionbetween the second computing device and a video-on-demand (VOD)controller based on the content request; retrieving, via the VODcontroller, the VOD content asset; transcoding the VOD content assetfrom a first format to a second format compatible with the DLNA device,resulting in a transcoded VOD content asset; and transferring thetranscoded VOD content asset to the DLNA device.
 17. The method of claim16, further comprising: establishing a second communication channelbetween a third computing device and an endpoint in a second local areanetwork; and establishing a second communication session between thethird computing device and a DLNA device associated with the endpoint inthe second local area network.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thefirst computing device, the second computing device, and the thirdcomputing device reside in a service provider network.
 19. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the endpoint in the first local area network comprisesat least one of a cable modem and a local area network router.
 20. Themethod of claim 19, wherein the virtual address is within a same addressspace as the endpoint in the first local area network.